If You Like Pina Coladas
by Tiggerz16
Summary: A wedding in Key West, an impromptu family vacation and a blast from his past was hardly the way Roxas planned on spending his summer vacation.
1. Chapter 1

It started with a wedding invitation.

It showed up one day, not quite out of the blue because the entire Strife family had seen this marriage coming from a mile away, a stark contrast to the numerous bills and advertisements that usually filled the mailbox. '_Aunt Quistis, Uncle Cid and family_,' the envelope read, in fancy script that Roxas knew his cousin had nothing to do with. '_You are cordially invited to the marriage of Cloud and Tifa.' _

Surprisingly, to most, there had never a question of whether or not Roxas would attend. He wasn't being forced, by any means (turning 18 will afford you that sort of luxury) but Cloud had long since earned his place as Roxas' least hated cousin. Which was entirely to blame on the now defunct Strife family reunions that he'd made somewhat tolerable, and the fact that he allowed his younger cousin first go on any new video games he'd received for Christmas the previous year. At the very last reunion, Roxas remembered clearly, it had been Mario 64.

And that was the simple reason why Roxas had decided to forgo his previous summer plans of laying around Hayner's new apartment, playing the shit out of his Playstation 3, and maybe getting into Olette's pants for once. Besides, a few days out of his life wasn't going to kill him. Not to mention, it was Key West, and as Hayner kindly reminded him, he'd have to be a complete dumbass to pass that up. So despite one tiny, potential hitch that Roxas chose to ignore in his otherwise pretty awesome plans, he felt pretty good about the start of this vacation.

Enter Sora, who has the uncanny ability to screw up even the best of situations, especially if they involve his twin brother in any way. And where Sora goes, Rikku is never too far to follow. Roxas should have been expecting it. After all, his siblings had been ruining his life for as long as he could remember. It's just that ever since graduating high school, he'd been under the impression that escaping them would be a whole lot easier. Clearly, he was wrong, because the moment Sora discovered the invitation and read the words 'wedding' and 'Key West', well, there was just no turning back.

That's where Roxas and Sora differed the most. Not in their appearances – even though Roxas's blonde hair and his brother's chestnut brown were about as opposite as could be – but in their outlooks on life. Roxas shied away from the world, and Sora embraced it. Sora loved being around people, while Roxas preferred being alone. Roxas made cross-state journeys to attend weddings because he was obligated to, and Sora made those very same journeys simply because they were fun. And Sora's idea of fun was some lame ass family road trip/vacation/bonding opportunity, which Rikku had been more than eager to take part in because she and Sora had always been closer than Roxas had been with either of them.

In the end, and despite every ounce of sense warning him against it, Roxas had no choice but to tag along because he was a broke, almost-college student who couldn't afford to pay his own way anywhere.

That's how he found himself stuck in the very backseat of a ratty, old Volkswagen Bus, heading for Key West. He'd been there, crammed between his chipper girlfriend, a cooler and a window that wouldn't budge for 5 long hours. Sora and Rikku had been annoyingly singing the entire soundtrack to Newsies since Miami, and if that wasn't torturous enough, his sister's absolute tool of a boyfriend was driving – if you could even call it that.

Roxas had been doing rather well so far, especially for someone who was on the verge of losing any sanity left, but about 3 miles across that dreaded 7 mile bridge and halfway through Rikku's 3rd straight rendition of Seize the Day, he felt himself starting to unravel. He'd been flicking his lighter on and off for the past 5 minutes, toying with the idea of trying to light another cigarette, because if he was going to survive the last few miles of this nightmare, he was going to need some nicotine in his system.

"Light that and you'll regret it," Gippal warned, glancing back at Roxas through the rear view mirror. He'd expected it the moment he raised the lighter to the cigarette hanging from his lips, but that didn't stop the rage from coursing through his veins. Of all people, he'd have never pegged Gippal to be such a stickler when it came to smoking. The bastard never seemed to give a rat's ass about anything else, including his sister.

Roxas scoffed and stared daggers at the back of Gippal's overly gelled hair before bothering to speak up. "Hey, it's not my fault that my brother is the only asshat to enter the rental car lot and immediately make a bee-line for the ugliest, most broken down piece of shit on the planet. If this window worked…" he trailed off, tapping the glass with his now useless cigarette. "And shouldn't you be paying more attention to your driving than what I'm doing. I mean, with that eye patch and all…"

"Roxas, please!" Rikku spun around in her seat, the beads in her long, blonde and half-way braided hair clacking together. Her eyes, which were beautiful swirls of green and blue, (thanks to being on the receiving end of the best genes either of their parents had to offer) were wide and pleading. And Roxas was just glad that Sora was stretched out on the seat in front of him, fast asleep, because the last thing he needed was the both of them spewing out their anti-smoking bullshit at the same time. "Smoking is such a disgusting habit."

Roxas smirked arrogantly, as his gaze flicked back to Gippal. "You'd know all about disgusting habits…"

It was no secret that Roxas hated Gippal, and not for some noble reason like the guy wasn't good enough for his sister or anything. He was just an annoying douchebag, who only seemed to find amusement in Roxas' distaste of him. Rikku had been dating him on and off since high school, and the only reason they weren't married by now was because Gippal had a wandering eye and was too much of a pussy to settle down. Roxas had even overheard the guy telling his friends one time that he liked to 'keep his options open'.

"That was mean, Roxas," Rikku replied as she sat back in her seat and pouted, even though she was five years older and, therefore, supposed to be the more mature one in the family. Roxas knew she hated how he and Gippal never got along, but he didn't really care. There was no force on earth, not even his sister's patented pout of doom, that could make him treat Gippal with any sort of respect. Her reaction was, however, enough to make him reconsider lighting the cigarette that was back to hanging from his lips. Almost.

In the end, it didn't matter how Roxas felt because Olette took it upon herself to reach over and pluck the cigarette out of his mouth, slapping him on the back of the head in the process. Olette was like that - bossy and a little overbearing. If asked, Roxas would say he only put up with her as much as he did because she was the literal girl next door. They'd grown up together and had basically been fated for marriage since before they could talk. Plus, she'd let him feel her up at that one out of control party of Hayner's back in the 11th grade, and as far as he was concerned, that was reason enough.

He'd never admit that he'd actually grown to care for the girl, despite her obvious flaws, or that sometimes, when she wasn't bugging him to, it was almost too easy to open up to her. Or that after the sudden void left in his life, being around her was the closest he'd felt to normal in a while.

"Stop being an asshole," she scolded, while still maintaining the pleasant tone in her voice that sometimes drove Roxas insane. Then she opened the window, the one that actually worked, and carelessly tossed Roxas's last cigarette outside. The only thing he could do was watch in disbelief as his one potential piece of solace in the hippie van from hell disappeared somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.

The last 4 miles across the bridge were not happy ones.

Eventually, but not soon enough, they officially arrived in Key West. Sora was awake by that time, and he and Rikku were freaking out over every palm tree they passed, despite having lived in Florida their whole lives where seeing palm trees was a common occurrence. Olette was busy tapping Roxas on the arm every five seconds and pointing out some random monument or building he couldn't have cared less about, and Gippal, the dumbass that he is, was having trouble following Mapquest and finding their hotel. They wound up having to stop off at a Circle K to ask for directions, and Roxas, thankful for Gippal's stupidity for once, welcomed the detour because it allowed him the chance to pick up a new pack of cigarettes.

It was 8:30 PM when they pulled up in front of the Hyatt and finally tumbled out of the vehicle for good, each person carrying one piece of luggage out of the assload they'd brought along and agreeing to retrieve the rest in the morning. Their room was already paid for, courtesy of their parents, and booked, thanks to Sora who always planned things out to perfection and in advance, like it was his job. Suite 113 was located on the second floor of the second building and was entirely too far from the parking lot - especially when Roxas was hauling his girlfriend's gigantic suitcase that weighed at least a metric shit-ton.

Once inside and just as the door clicked shut behind them, everyone except Roxas began to shamelessly strip right there in the doorway. And he didn't know whether to be amused or thoroughly disgusted, because the last thing he ever wanted to see was Gippal's naked ass.

"I know I'm going to regret asking…" Roxas winced as Rikku practically ripped her blouse off, only to reveal a shiny blue bikini top. Thank God. "But what the hell are you all doing?"

Sora dug into the pockets of his shorts and pulled out a pair of goggles before flinging the garment at his brother. "We're going swimming," he finally replied, like it was common knowledge – as if all four of them had gotten together and secretly planned it. And he wouldn't be surprised if they had. "Duh."

Roxas removed the pair of shorts from his head and scowled. "It's 9 o'clock at night, and the pool's probably closed," he reasoned, not even sure why he was bothering or even cared. He was too busy watching as Olette bent down to remove her shoes, which gave him a pretty nice view of her ass, to notice that his perfectly logical and sane observation had been met with nothing but an incredulous silence.

"You're coming, right?" Olette asked, raising back up and breaking the trance her backside had put him in.

"Uh…no."Roxas walked past the half-naked group, through the barely-there hallway and into the surprisingly large kitchen. Leaning against the counter, he made the mistake of turning back around and looking into three pairs of wide eyes that were currently judging the ever-loving shit out of him.

"And why not?" Rikku was the first to break the silence, the fact that she thought _he_ was the crazy one of the bunch made clear by her tone. "And don't even think about giving me any of that pissed at the world, emo, 'I'm such a tortured soul' crap, either." She finished undressing, kicking her jean shorts off to the side and placing her hands on her hips. "I want a good reason."

Roxas opened up one of the cupboards next to his head, mostly because he wanted to pretend he wasn't as offended by her words as he actually was, and found it completely empty. "I'm not emo," he finally replied. "And fuck your good reason." Rikku's face fell at his words, making Roxas feel sort of bad. And he might have even considered apologizing…until the douchetard interrupted.

"Hey," Gippal snapped harshly, as he stepped forward, clad in nothing but a pair of black swim trunks. His gaze was hard and wannabe intimidating, but Roxas just rolled his eyes. Gippal was all bark and no bite. If he wasn't, they'd have ripped each other to shreds by now. "Watch your mouth."

Roxas found it all kinds of hilarious and yet, somehow, infuriating that Gippal of all people was stepping up to protect his sister's honor, but instead of opening his mouth and causing yet another argument, he decided to remain silent and let his middle finger do all the talking. Gippal narrowed his eyes, obviously mulling over the same consequences, before grabbing Rikku's arm and spinning on his heels.

"Let's go," he muttered, as he pulled her towards the exit.

To Roxas, it felt like a victory. Until the door slammed shut and the only thing left to do was avoid looking into his brother's sad eyes. Sora was standing there, pouting and looking on with pity that Roxas didn't want any part of, so he inspected the next cupboard over and waited until he heard retreating footsteps and the door shutting for a second time before looking back over to Olette. She walked over a second later, an almost comforting smile on her lips, and kissed him on the cheek. Then she left him alone without a word.

It was exactly what he needed, to be left alone. There were times when Roxas thought he felt for Olette what she clearly felt for him. Moments like these, when she seemed to know him better than even his own family, when she remained a soothing presence after everyone else had given up. It was a fleeting feeling, though, and as soon as he began to ponder it too deeply, things went back to normal.

Once finally alone, Roxas decided to take a look around the place that would serve as his 'home' for the next three weeks. It was nice – kinda fancy, even. And he was just glad that, even though they couldn't come along, his parents had insisted on paying for the place. Otherwise, they'd have probably ended up in some roach motel where they'd have to buy dinner from a vending machine and share the room's only bed. This place had cooking appliances and separate bedrooms, along with a huge living room and entertainment system. Maybe things wouldn't be as horrible as he'd thought, after all.

After opening the doors to both bedrooms and fawning over the giant flat screen TV, Roxas finally made his way out to the balcony. He expected the humid, muggy air to hit him like a ton of bricks –living in a city like Tampa will do that to you – but was pleasantly surprised by a warm, refreshing sea breeze, instead.

After momentarily studying a telescope standing off to the side, he walked over to the edge of the balcony, rummaging in his pockets for his lighter and pack of cigarettes. Finally taking a drag and letting the smoke fill his lungs left him feeling tranquil for the first time all day. And In nicotine's sweet embrace, he was able to sort of appreciate the sound of waves lapping at the shore of the ocean just across the highway and the voices echoing from the pool below.

He looked down at his brother, sister and girlfriend as they laughed and splashed around and appeared to be having the time of their lives, like he wasn't there, as if he was the farthest thing from their minds at that moment. And it wasn't jealousy that he felt in the pit of his stomach. Not at all. He only wished they would quiet down because he didn't feel like getting kicked out of such an awesome hotel. Besides, he didn't even want to go swimming.

Tilting his head back, Roxas let out a tired sigh and took another drag of the cigarette. Only for his peaceful reverie to come crashing down in the most horrible, yet not entirely unexpected, of ways.

"Smoking kills, ya know?" The voice startled him in more ways than one, and it was hard to ignore the chills it sent down his spine or the sick feeling in his gut, but he managed somehow. He had to. After the immediate shock wore off, Roxas considered not answering at all, which is what he'd been telling himself he'd do if the chance ever arose, but the logical part of his brain lost out in the end.

"So do a lot of things." He shrugged and tapped his cigarette against the railing, watching the ashes fall down to the ground below in an attempt forget this was actually happening. He hated the way his voice sounded too soft and not nearly furious enough.

Roxas couldn't help but peer over at the balcony to his left. The only defining trait of the tall, shadowy figure standing across the way were the odd spikes of hair hanging down the back of his neck. But that was all Roxas had to see. "Why do you even care?" His voice remained steady, but it just wasn't enough. If he wasn't going to stick to his plans of ignoring, then he should have just let it all out.

"Ro-" the reply that Roxas was sure he didn't want to hear was interrupted by the sound of a door slamming open and a sudden rush of noise.

"Axel, are you coming…or not?" The familiar voice asked, clearly out of breath.

Roxas dared himself to look back over at the neighboring balcony, only to catch a glint of light reflecting off of long, silver hair and immediately turned back around. This was worse than he imagined, and he had to retreat from the balcony without being noticed. Unfortunately, Roxas was nothing if not obvious, so sneaking back into the suite unnoticed was going to be quite difficult, but it was still the better alternative to staying out there.

"Larxene said she'd castrate to you if you didn't hurry," the guy at the door said, causing Roxas to cringe as he inched backwards, pushing himself away from the railing. Of course, she'd be there, too. They'd probably brought the whole stupid gang along. "And, knowing that crazy bitch, I wouldn't put it past her." Silence, and Roxas' heart nearly beat right out of his chest at the thought of being caught. He cursed himself for ever agreeing to make this trip, and was about to put a silent hex on Cloud's wedding. "Well…?"

Axel finally turned to face the doorway. "I'll be there in a second, Ri…" And that was the last thing Roxas heard before finally making it back inside and shutting the door behind him. He stood there in the middle of the living room floor for a minute, just breathing and stupidly trying to convince himself that nothing that had just happened was as big of a deal as he made it out to be, before bolting out the front door.

After running down two flights of stairs, a cobbled pathway and a patch of sand, Roxas finally made it to the pool, where his family was still making a racket befitting a party of hundreds. He chanced one last glance over his shoulder at the balcony above. It was empty, and he wanted to believe that relieved him. Luckily, there wasn't much time to feel or think at all because as soon as he walked through the gate, Sora was grabbing a hold of his arms and bouncing in place.

"You came!" he shouted, and Roxas knew it was only a matter of time before they were forced to stay at the motel 6. "What made you change your mind?" Roxas schooled his expression into one of indifference, but Sora wasn't fooled. "What happened?" he asked almost instantly.

"Nothing." Roxas shrugged him off and took a seat on one of the chairs as Olette finally made it out of the pool and sat next to him, soaking his perfectly dry and comfortable clothes when she wrapped an arm around his shoulder and giggled annoyingly in his ear. It took everything he had –which honestly wasn't much by that point – not to shove her off. Where was this anger when he actually needed it?

"Are you sure," Sora asked, skeptically. "Because you look like you just saw a ghost."

Rikku and Gippal walked over at that moment, and Roxas was starting to regret his decision of going out there in the first place. He would have been much safer and comfortable back inside the hotel, watching the I Love Lucy marathon, which he totally didn't know was on the Hallmark Channel right now.

"I said I'm fine, Sora," he spat out rather unconvincingly, but Roxas was too tired and worn out for anything more than that, so he relented and gave his brother what he'd wanted – a smile. It was small and entirely fake because Roxas couldn't remember the last time he'd smiled for real. Well, he could, but he didn't like to think about it too much. "I just saw Gippal's face. That's all."

"Well, we were just about to head upstairs and hit the hay, anyhow," Rikku said cheerily, stopping the retort she knew was on the tip of her boyfriend's tongue then flipping her hair around and smacking Roxas directly in the face. His first instinct was to get angry, but when she started giggling and running for the exit, all was forgotten. "Last one to the room gets to sleep on the couch!" She shouted over her shoulder, and all 5 of them took off, like one big stampede of absolute insanity.

* * *

><p>Naturally, Sora lost. The kid was smart as a whip and, having been a baseball player in high school, was athletic, as well. His downfall was that he was rather naïve and trusting of everyone, and that put him at a disadvantage. Especially, when Roxas noticed that Olette was lagging behind- because there was no way in hell he was going to share a bed with his brother and lose a golden opportunity like that. So he pulled a little bitch move by pretending to trip and fall, which caused Sora, with his heart of gold, to stop and make sure he was alright. That's when Roxas grabbed a hold of Olette's hand and ran, laughing his ass off and never looking back. He wasn't particularly proud but, hey, it had to be done.<p>

"You cheated, Roxas." Sora was panting when he finally made it through the front door.

"I did no such thing." Roxas slipped out of his wet t-shirt and threw it into the pile of clothes in the hall. "You lost, fair and square." He smirked and took Olette's hand in his again, dragging her towards the door he knew led to the master bedroom. "Have fun sleeping on the couch tonight." He offered a small salute and was just about to reach the door handle when he heard a voice that made his blood curdle.

"Where do you think you're going?" Gippal asked, stepping between Roxas and the Promised Land.

"Olette and I are just going to our room, so step aside, assface."

"I don't think so." Roxas hated everything about being short, especially those cheesy ass insults in elementary school, like 'shorty-by-nature', but what he hated most of all was being stared down at by arrogant and domineering bastards named Gippal. "This is my room, kid. I got here first, so you and your girlfriend can go find somewhere else to play."

"Excuse me?" Roxas inched forward and noticed Rikku take a few steps closer, like her skinny ass could stop him from blackening her boyfriend's only good eye. "Whose parents are paying for this place?"

"Your argument sucks balls because your sister, who unfortunately shares parents with you, in case you didn't know, is my girlfriend." Gippal laughed, and Rikku didn't do anything to stop him except for a pitiful slap on the chest. "So _her_ parents are paying for the place, and that means we're taking the room, shorty."

"He's right," Rikku spoke up, and Roxas wasn't surprised that she was taking Gippal's side. He would never understand how she was so blind when it came to him. "We're the oldest here, Roxas. It's only fair."

"Fair, my ass." He shot his sister a heated glare and unsuccessfully ignored Gippal's smug grin, then stomped across the room like a petulant child because he had been wronged, damnnit! Olette followed, and just as they entered the small hallway that led to their new room, Sora burst through the front door. For the record, Roxas did not squeal like a girl or nearly jump out of his skin.

"What the hell are you doing?" he totally did not squeak out. "I thought you were already inside."

"I went down to the car to get this!" Sora raised up his hands to reveal an air mattress and pump. "I'm not sleeping on the couch tonight," he boasted proudly, sticking his chest out and marching past Roxas and Olette and into the living room. Only he didn't stop there.

"What the hell are you doing, kid?" Gippal asked, still standing protectively in front of his bedroom door, and Roxas had to bite back a scathing retort because the battle was over. He just had a hard time letting things go.

"Sleeping on the porch," Sora answered casually, like it was the most normal thing in the world to do, and scurried out the door with a smile on his face that made Roxas want to punch a hole in the wall.

"You're not going to let him do that, right?" he asked anyone that was listening. "I mean, he can't sleep on the porch…"

"We don't _let_ him do anything," Rikku said, yawning and stretching her arms above her head. Gippal took that moment to noticeably ogle her breasts and Roxas wanted to gouge his eyes out. "He's an adult, he can do what he wants." She leaned into her boyfriend as he opened the door. "Why don't you try and stop him?" Just before the bedroom door closed, Roxas clearly heard the hideous sound of a hand slapping one of his sister's buttcheeks, and he wanted to die.

"I swear to God," Roxas shouted, as Olette laid a hand on his shoulder. "I am _not_ going to listen you guys hump like gorillas all night long! Do you hear me?" Silence, except for the sound of Sora filling his mattress up with air out on the porch. "I said, do you hear me?"

"Then go sleep outside with your brother," Gippal called out that time, followed by an obnoxious giggle from Rikku. And Roxas swore he would never, no matter what, even if Cloud named his first child after him, take a vacation like this again.


	2. Chapter 2

The master bedroom was awesome. The huge, bay window and sweet jacuzzi tub made it totally worth having to deal with Roxas and the permanent stick wedged up his ass. Gippal only wished it hadn't also taken a mad dash up 2 flights of stairs because he was just plain tired. It wasn't that he couldn't handle driving for long periods of time, or because Rikku's family was trying even at the best of times. It's just that together they were a deadly combination, and Gippal had been caught in the crossfire.

After lifting their shared luggage onto the bed, Rikku pulled out her pajamas and headed straight for the bathroom, calling out over her shoulder that she needed a quick shower. She wasn't the only one, but Gippal knew better than to ask to join. Rikku would die before anything happened with her brothers in the next room. She'd been pretty adamant about it, even when Gippal tried to reason with her that her brothers weren't exactly kids anymore and had probably already known they'd been shacking up for the past 4 years. Besides, he was too tired to do much of anything, let alone have sex in the shower, but explaining that to Rikku just felt like too much work. So, despite probably smelling like shit warmed over, he decided to just get dressed for bed.

"Your brother's a real piece of work," Gippal called out as he pushed his wet swimming trunks down, leaving him completely exposed in front of the window on the other side of the room. It faced the ocean, and Gippal had nothing to be ashamed of, anyway.

"Sora just marches to the beat of his own drum," Rikku's voice carried over the sound of the shower and through the bathroom door she'd left half-open. "Sleeping on the porch sounds kinda fun, anyway. Maybe we should trade places with him."

"I'm not talking about Sora." Gippal pulled on his favorite pair of green pajama bottoms. They were a gift from his mother, and he'd always been a bit of a mama's boy.

"You mean Roxas?"

"Do you have another brother I don't know about?" Gippal asked, rolling his eyes and shoving the suitcase off the bed before falling face first into the mattress below. He heard the shower turn off, and it remained silent for a few minutes before Rikku emerged, clad in her bright yellow pajamas.

"Roxas is…just having a bit of a hard time," she finally answered, picking Gippal's dirty clothes off of the floor and setting them with hers by the door. "He's just sorta lost right now."

Gippal gave a wry laugh that he knew probably bothered her, for Rikku was always defensive when it came to family, especially Roxas. Which Gippal thought defied all logic, considering what a bastard the kid was to her.

"Right now?" He turned to lay on his back when Rikku climbed on the bed and sat down next to him. "I've known the kid - thanks to you - for 4 years now, and, let's face it; when is he ever _not_ having a hard time?"

Rikku frowned, but remained quiet, so Gippal grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her down to lay next to him. She complied rather easily and let her head rest on his shoulder. "I wish you didn't hate Roxas," she finally said, and defeat in her voice nearly broke Gippal's heart. Not that he'd ever admit to being such a sucker out loud.

"Are you kidding me?" He couldn't help but laugh, despite the sudden serious turn their conversation had taken. Raising up and forcing Rikku to do the same, he looked at her. "Do you honestly think I'd waste so much time at your house or dragging his ass along with us on this vacation if I hated him so much?" She only looked back at him, and he smirked. "The kid obviously hates me, and I just like to torture him, that's all. You know that's how I show affection," he said, playfully hitting Rikku on the arm, and she finally cracked a smile.

"Well, if that's the case…" Her smile turned into something a little more devious as she crawled across the bed until she was practically in his lap. "Then I've got a plan."

* * *

><p>Roxas didn't believe in karma or fate, or destiny, or any of that boring and pointless gibberish his brother often rambled on about. But lying there on that huge bed next to Olette, who had hours earlier forced him to trek back to the van and receive her Hello Kitty pajamas, waiting to hear even the slightest noise coming from his sister and Gippal's room where he was 99% sure they were only <em>pretending<em> to have sex just to piss him off and trying not to think about the unwelcome guests next door, well…he was beginning to think that maybe his brother had been onto something.

Something or someone in the universe had it out for him, and through no fault of his own, of course. Hell, it had only been out of the goodness of his heart that he'd even bothered to show up for his cousin's boring ass wedding, at all. So, clearly, he was suffering because of someone else's shitty karma. Probably Gippal's. And that meant that Roxas had secured his own downfall by accepting a ride from the bastard.

There was a lesson to be learned here - something like, thou shalt not accept rides from thou sister's asshole boyfriend…or something, but Roxas was too tired to really think about it because he'd been awake since 7 the previous morning.

Forget the fact that Roxas hadn't gone to bed before 3 since the summer prior to his senior year, when Hayner's parties had become more frequent and actually doing homework had turned into a thing of the past, this night was different. He'd just survived one of the most exhausting days of his life, and there were more of those yet to come. All he wanted was to sleep everything off, to forget things if only for a while, but he couldn't shut his mind off no matter how hard he tried. Plus, he was starving. The last time he'd had anything in his mouth besides a cigarette was ages ago when they'd stopped off at that crummy little Burger King in Fort Lauderdale. And even then, he'd only dared to try an order of small fries because the place was nasty as fuck, and if Roxas was going to die on this trip, which he probably would, it sure as hell wasn't going to be from something as lame as food poisoning.

It was exactly 2:15 AM – and he knew this because he'd been staring at the clock for the past hour – when Roxas gave up on the idea of ever falling asleep. Olette had been out from the moment her head hit the pillow, which was as much of an annoyance tonight as a blessing, and waking her had always been like attempting to rouse the dead, so there was little worry of disturbing her. Still, just in case, Roxas slid off the mattress, shuffled silently across the room and eased the door shut behind him. The last thing he needed was Olette trying to pry information out of him so late at night – 'Why are you still up?' 'Is something wrong?' 'You can talk to me, Roxas.'

What Roxas wanted was food. And lots of it. So it was a good thing that his room was literally 5 feet from the kitchen, and thanks to the moonlight shining in through the sliding glass doors, he was able to make it there without incident.

The refrigerator was a most welcome sight, and Roxas might have even shed a tear at its beauty if he wasn't so quick to barrel towards the thing and swing the door open, ready to eat all of his problems away.

Empty, white shelves stared Roxas in the face, and this time he wanted to cry for an entirely different reason. As difficult and embarrassing as it was to hold back the tears (Thank God no one was awake to witness this) Roxas swallowed the lump in his throat and rested his head against the freezer door, choosing to let out a quiet, yet no less pathetic, whimper instead.

"Yea…we should probably go pick up some food tomorrow." The voice shocked Roxas out of whatever breakdown he'd been on the verge of, and he spun around to see his sister leaning over the counter and watching him with amused eyes. He just knew there was so much more she wanted to say, and this would be the perfect opportunity to get him back for all the times he'd fought with Gippal, but she wisely kept her mouth shut.

"Shit…" Roxas breathed out, trying and failing epically at acting like his heart wasn't about to pound out of his chest. "What are you trying to do, Rikku? Kill me?"

She giggled, and it was really the most annoying thing she could have done. It was too late – or early- for this shit. "Now why would I want to kill my favorite little brother?"

"Sure," Roxas scoffed, knowing better than to believe in pretty words or the cute little crinkle of his sister's nose. He wasn't anyone's favorite anything. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed with Gippal, basking in the afterglow?" He cringed at the visual he'd unintentionally given himself, but continued. "I mean, with all that unnecessary noise you two were making…"

"You know we were only doing that to get on your nerves," she informed, as if Roxas hadn't already known. The deliberate slamming of the headboard against the wall and the over-exaggerated 'Oh, my God's' was enough to clue him in. "We didn't actually _do_ anything."

"Right," he replied, idly swinging the refrigerator door back and forth. "You wouldn't wanna get crabs, or anything." Roxas smirked when his sister crossed her arms firmly over her chest and scowled. He was feeling better already.

"You know…" Rikku began, the sneaky lilt to her voice nearly wiping the grin right off his face. "For someone who claims to hate Gippal so much, you sure spend a lot of time thinking about him." Roxas narrowed his eyes in warning, but Rikku remain unperturbed. "And even more time, it seems, thinking about his dick."

Roxas nearly choked on the air he was breathing in, and it was his sister who was now wearing the smug grin on her lips. "Wait, what? That's not- that's just… What?" Roxas fumbled over the words like he'd only just learned to talk and had never formed a decent comeback in his life. There was just no way Rikku, of all people, had bested him. "You can't be implying that I - That Gippal…" he trailed off once the immediate shock had dissipated, and then he was just royally pissed off.

"Fuck you," he spat out, slamming the refrigerator door and spinning on his heels. "I'm going back to bed." Because lying there tossing and turning for hours on end was better than this.

"Wait!" Rikku called after him and before he could make a proper getaway was grabbing a hold of his arm. They were right outside his bedroom door, in the darkened shadows of the hallway, and the only reason Roxas didn't shove her away and head on into the room was because of the slight chance he'd wake Olette.

"I'm sorry," Rikku whispered, tugging a little on Roxas' arm, but he wasn't about to relent just yet. Sure, his sister was the lesser of two evils, but she was still evil. "Look, you were hungry, right?"

He eyed his sister cagily, but remained silent. She was up to something.

"Oh, c'mon." Rikku let out a chuckle, obviously not even bothering to hide her delight in her brothers' justified anger. "I saw everything, Roxas. You were totally about to cry when you opened that refrigerator door."

"I was not!" he defended a little too quickly. Trying to pry her fingers off his bicep was harder than he would've liked to admit. When the hell did Rikku get so strong? "If that's all you have to say, then please leave me the hell alone."

"Ok. Ok, you weren't gonna cry," she relented, and the amusement still in her voice proved she was unconvinced but willing to say anything to make her brother stay. "I stand corrected." That time, the tug she gave was enough to send Roxas almost toppling over, and he was starting to feel kind of stupid. Not only could his girly sister beat him in a game of insults, but she was clearly the stronger of the two. Damn Gippal's karma.

Rikku all but dragged him across the floor and into the living room before throwing him like a ragdoll onto the couch, where he could only stare in bewilderment as his sister flopped down next to him. She then beamed at him, holding her hands behind her back.

"Guess what I have?"

"No," Roxas said, attempting to gain what little composure he had left. "Look, Rikku, I understand you're a little bit nuts, always have been," she shot him a playful glare, "and clearly you're craving some major attention right now, but I don't play guessing games. I just happened to walk into the kitchen at the wrong time, so I'm gonna go now." He was just about to stand up when Rikku spoke.

"It's too bad you feel that way," she said. And then he heard it. A crinkling sound that almost made him drop to his knees and beg his sister for mercy. Turning around slowly, he saw Rikku pull out what she'd been hiding behind her back. "Because I just happen to have some chips here that I might be willing to share… if the price was right?"

"What are your terms?" Roxas bit out, watching her dangle the bag of sour cream and onion chips in front of his face and resisting the urge to grab at it.

"You just have to sit with me," Rikku said , feigning innocence. She was anything but innocent, the conniving, little…

Roxas finally snatched the bag out of her hands and took a seat at the far end of the couch. She might have been able to buy his time, but he'd be damned if he was going to sit there and act happy about it.

Silence stretched on for a few glorious moments that Roxas knew wouldn't last in the presence of his sister and wasn't surprised in the least when she finally spoke.

"What are you doing up?"

"What are_ you_ doing up?" he shot back at her, not really caring but willing to suffer through anything if it meant he could shove another handful of chips into his mouth.

"Couldn't sleep." Rikku sighed, hugging her legs to her chest. When she looked towards the window, Roxas downed another pile of chips. "I guess I'm just too anxious. You know, excited about being here." She faced him again, and Roxas pulled his hand out of the bag. There was no way he'd let her know just how much he was enjoying those chips of hers. "Your turn. Why are you awake?"

"Uh…same," he lied. Like he was going to spill anything to Rikku ever again.

"I see." Rikku shot him an doubtful glance, but pried no further, at least for the moment – and maybe the first time in her 22 years of life. She began to tap an annoying little rhythm against the armrest as her eyes roved around the room, as if searching for something else to say.

When had communicating with his sister become so awkward? So maybe she and Roxas had never had the closest relationship, but there had been a time when they could pass the time with idle chatter. Damn, this was pathetic…

"I wanted to go out to the balcony," Rikku finally said, laughing to herself. Roxas was busying himself with picking at crumbs at the bottom of the bag. "But then I remembered Sora was sleeping out there."

"Please." Roxas scoffed, making sure his sister's attention was elsewhere before licking his fingers. "You could throw him and that mattress into the pool, and you still wouldn't wake him."

Rikku offered a smile and the silence settled in-between them once again, and lasted a good, awkward 5 minutes. During which time Roxas had finished the bag of chips and set it off to the side, hoping his sister had finally shut up for good. He hated small talk and people pretending that they actually wanted to know how someone's day was or why they were awake and dying for food at nearly 3 o'clock in the morning. No one actually cared about that kind of stuff.

"So…how are you holding up?" Rikku asked out of nowhere. It was vague enough, but they both knew exactly what she was referring to.

Unfortunately, back in his freshman year and during the worst week of his short life, Roxas had made the mistake of seeking his sister out and spilling his guts about everything that had happened between him and Axel. It was a moment of weakness he'd rather forget, and even though she never brought the subject up, he knew it was at least part of the reason their relationship had withered so significantly.

"How am I holding up with what?" Roxas feigned ignorance, even though they both knew better. He didn't allow a moment for Rikku to answer. "You mean Sora turning what was supposed to be a quick trip into a pile of shit, having my room stolen by your ugly boyfriend and then being forced to listen to the two of you imitate sex all night long? Sure, I'm cool with that." He laughed wryly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"That's not what I meant," Rikku said sternly, and Roxas faltered as he reached for the chip bag sitting neatly folded between them. "I mean, are you ok with the wedding… Cloud marrying Tifa and all." That was as specific as she was going to get. But that's really all she needed to say.

Among the strife family, Cloud and Tifa's relationship was legend. It had been hailed - especially by Rikku, who happened to be their biggest supporter and hopeless romantic herself – as one of the greatest loves of our time. Ever since their eyes first met from across the room of Dr. Vexen's AP Chemistry class, they'd basically been destined for things that only existed in fairytales.

And that was all well and good. Roxas couldn't have cared less, really. He hardly ever saw Cloud anymore, anyways, so it's not like he'd be seeing much of his cousin's bride either. Not that he didn't like her. Tifa was nice, and she had the biggest tits he'd ever seen, but there was one thing about her Roxas just couldn't overlook. She was a Lockhart.

"Why would I be upset about Cloud and Tifa marrying?" Roxas answered, sidestepping the underlying question he knew was there. "They're nice people, unlike some others I know."

"That's because they don't have to put up with you all the time." Rikku slapped him on the shoulder playfully, and he scowled because, damnit, that hurt. Again.

"What the hell was that for?" he asked, rubbing his shoulder and not pouting. Not even a little.

"You're deliberately changing the subject," she said, serious once again, and Roxas was regretting ever leaving his and Olette's room. Why did he put himself in positions like this all the time? "You know what I'm talking about Roxas. I know you do." Her tone became softer, and Roxas was getting ready to run. "How are you…" Rikku sighed, and seemed like she was about to give up. If only… "You know, since Tifa is Axel's cousin, you're-"

He'd heard enough. "Ok," Roxas interrupted, leaping to his feet. It was bad enough to know in the back of his mind just what was coming, but to talk about it aloud was a whole different story.

"Look, I'm not trying to pry," Rikku added, taking advantage of having caught her brother off guard for the second time in one night. "I just – I know this must be…difficult for you," she said carefully, and shit…she really did know. She was the only one who knew.

Roxas had never wanted a smoke more in his life, but, damn it all to hell, his lighter and cigarettes were back in his room. His fingers twitched in need, and he seriously debated grabbing the car keys off the counter and driving to the nearest gas station.

"Let's watch TV." Rikku suddenly changed the subject, obviously noticing her brother's turmoil. Her voice sounded a little sadder, and Roxas only hoped she felt half as bad as he did. "There's an I love Lucy marathon on."

And just like that, any will he still had to leave and not look back dissipated. Roxas was powerless in the face of classic TV, and Rikku knew it. Defeated, once and for all, he slunk back into the cushions. Rikku turned on the TV without another word, for which he was thankful, because one more word out of her mouth and not even the zany antics of Lucy Ricardo would be enough to make him stay.

"I hate this show," Roxas lied a few minutes into the second episode, just because it felt like the right thing to do.

Rikku snorted, tossing another bag of chips onto her brother's lap. "Of course, you do."

* * *

><p>The fact that it was nearly 6 AM didn't deter Riku and his two companions traversing the walkways of the hotel from making as much noise as humanly possible. He and Axel had their arms wrapped around one another's shoulders because Axel seemed to be on the verge of falling into a hysterical heap on the ground. The blonde ahead of them was stumbling backwards and slurring the theme song to Spongebob Squarepants.<p>

The party at Larxene and Marluxia's had been the norm, just some good friends, bad karaoke and a few beers, but because this was the first night of their long-awaited vacation, things might have gone a little overboard. It had only officially ended a few minutes ago when Riku, the most sober of everyone in attendance, had realized that the party hosts were passed out cold on the floor and the sun was about to come up. He'd somehow managed to drag both Axel and Demyx away from the Wii and out into the early morning air without so much as a hitch. It was only when they'd been turned loose on the world that they (mostly Demyx) started losing their shit.

"Demyx, man," the redhead managed to speak through his incessant giggling, his words only slightly garbled. "You're fucking wasted."

Demyx's off-key shouting came to an abrupt end, and the sudden, deathly silence only accentuated to Riku how much of an absolute disturbance they were making. How no one had come out to beat the living shit out them was amazing, because they were really asking for it. "Tell him, Riku." Axel untangled himself from his friend and attempted to nudge Riku in the ribs but missed by a mile and nearly tumbled over the railing and to his imminent death on the pavement below.

"You're gone, dude," Riku informed Demyx and grabbed a hold of Axel's arm before anything else could go wrong.

"Bu- but…whatabout Axel?" Demyx slurred, but managed to somehow keep his balance enough to continue walking backwards and watch his friends. He pointed to the redhead who was still being dragged along.

"Hey!" Axel abruptly stopped and only had to wait a few seconds for the world to stop spinning before pointing a finger back at Demyx. "I'm not drunk, I'm just tipsy."

Riku's patience was seriously running thin. He was dead ass tired and annoyed that a 60 second journey had turned into a 5 minute ordeal. Their room was only a couple feet away, so he gently pushed Axel forward, who in turn, tripped over his own feet and crashed into Demyx. They both fell to the ground and before Riku could think of doing anything to help the incompetent morons he called friends, Demyx had begun puking his guts out right there on the walkway, while Axel screamed like a little bitch and scrambled to stand up. Riku considered just leaving them to their own devices, when the door in front of them swung open to reveal another head of red hair.

"What the hell is going out here?" The guy questioned, tying his hair back into the usual ponytail Riku was accustomed to seeing, and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. It was really a testament to how crazy one was when even Reno had chosen to call it quits and get some sleep hours ago. Too bad Riku wasn't a shittier friend or he'd have tagged along with the guy.

"Everyone I know is a dipshit," he replied, watching Demyx roll around in his own vomit, as Axel finally made it to his slightly unsteady feet.

"Told you I wasn't drunk," Axel said smugly and stumbled past his brother into the suite.

Riku rolled his eyes and bent down to grab a hold of one of Demyx's arms. Noticing the lack of help from the only other sober person out there, he rose back up and glared at Reno. "A little help here," he spat out, gesturing rather aggressively down at Demyx, who seemed to be over the worst, at least for the moment.

Reno smirked annoyingly, but pushed himself away from the door, and together he and Riku managed to drag Demyx inside and drop him on the bathroom floor in front of the toilet.

"Well, let me know how things turn out," Reno said, quickly turning on his heels and heading back into his room, without so much as an offer to stay up and help with their shitfaced friend, despite being the only one of them who had gotten any sleep.

Grumbling, Riku lifted the toilet lid and told Demyx he'd be back to check on him in a bit. The agonized moan he received in return was enough to inform him that Demyx was still breathing, so he stepped over the man and out into the hallway. The sliding glass doors were wide open and thanks to the rising sun, Riku could see Axel leaning against the railing of the balcony.

When he stepped outside, Riku was relieved to find that Axel was indeed not vomiting onto the balcony below and, instead was staring kinda dazedly at the neighboring one to the right.

"What are you doing out here?" Riku asked, moving closer.

"Shhhhh." Axel placed a single finger to his mouth, which caused Riku to roll his eyes. Then he nodded his head, prompting his friend to take a look, and Riku honestly didn't know what to think because there, on the balcony of what was obviously his suite, was Sora Strife. And if it wasn't already bizarre enough that of all the places in Key West to book a room, he and his family happened to get one right next door, the kid was sleeping outside on an air mattress.

"What…the hell?" Riku managed to get out in-between his shock and the chuckle that was threatening to break loose. The Strife family was so fucking nuts.

"I don't even know," Axel said, sounding a lot less 'tipsy' and more like himself. "It's just like Sora to do something like that, though."

"Yea, sure." Riku tried an indifferent scoff that he could tell Axel wasn't buying if the arch of a red eyebrow was any indication. Deciding to ignore the situation they were in, or at least put it off for a while because he was practically dead on his feet, Riku changed the subject. "You should try and get some sleep. You know, Kairi has that fitting for her bridesmaids dress today, and I thought you were going with her to see your cousin?"

"What about you?" Axel asked, finally turning away from the balcony. "Although, I really don't think I should be pushing you into bed, considering you're shtupping my little sister."

Riku made a disgusted face and punched Axel in the arm, because the last thing he wanted to do was talk to his best friend about his and Kairi's sex life. Not that they even had one, but Axel had taken the whole 'Riku and Kairi sharing a room' thing a lot better than expected. Even Reno didn't seem to give a single shit, and Riku didn't know how to take this. He'd been a friend of the Lockhart's for years now, but his relationship with Kairi was new and risky territory.

They fell into silence after that, watching the rays of the sun get brighter as it rose over the horizon. And although Riku had been the one to change the subject, ever since the discovery of their surprise guests next door, there had been one question he'd been dying to, but was hesitant, to ask.

"So…" Riku's voice broke through the hush and seemed to bring both he and Axel back to life. "Do you think Roxas is with them?"

Axel immediately tensed, and it wasn't all that surprising, really. It had been years since anyone had brought that name up, even with the very real possibility they'd discussed of the _entire_ Strife family showing up for this wedding. So Riku wasn't really expecting an answer, but he hadn't anticipated the way Axel's face seemed to pale or the way he suddenly stumbled across the balcony, knocked over a chair, and disappeared back through the sliding glass doors.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," he called back, and just before Riku heard the bedroom door shut, Axel's voice faintly sounded out again. "I guess I was more drunk than I thought."

Riku shook his head and couldn't help the smile that broke out on his face. He looked back over to the balcony across the way in time to see Sora shifting positions, and he was actually quite surprised he and Axel hadn't woken the kid. Then again, he could still easily recall what a sound sleeper Sora was.

He took to leaning against the table in the middle of the floor and seriously contemplated waiting until Sora awoke, just to see what would happen, but the sound of Demyx crying out from the bathroom brought him back to reality, and he took off back inside. After all, Riku was a good friend, and there was plenty of time to see how things would work out in the coming weeks. Although, he wasn't so sure if that was a good thing.

* * *

><p><strong>Yea, I actually updated this thing. Shock and awe, right? I don't really have any excuse as to why it's taken so long other than I hate pretty much everything I write and am my own worst critic. Also, <strong>**I went back and changed a little of the first chapter and fixed it up.**

**Reviews are nice, so feel free to leave me some feedback. Or don't. The choice is yours.**


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